Latest reports suggest that Chelsea have taken a major step in their hunt to sign Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa after it emerged that the Spanish international has completed a medical prior to sealing his transfer.

The West London giants have long been linked with a move for the La Liga title-winning forward, and David Hytner of The Guardian claims that the move is extremely close to being made official. The BBC also reported the same information.

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

The move is reported to be costing Jose Mourinho's side the full £32 million value of Costa's release clause, with Hytner also going on to say that Atleti left-back Luis Filipe and midfielder Tiago are also interesting the Blues.

Chelsea's lack of a reliable scoring figure last season was arguably the biggest factor in their failure to go further in Premier League and Champions League title chases, and Squawka explores how Costa sizes up to Mourinho's current attacking assets:

Costa succumbed to a niggling injury around the time of this season's Champions League final and was treated with horse placenta in a bid to return to fitness.

However, it appears Chelsea are so adamant to get a deal done before their target takes off for this summer's World Cup that they feel confident in making their move despite the striker's lack of fitness.

Speaking to Chelsea TV (h/t Daily Mail's Matt McGeehan) in early May, Mourinho was quoted in voicing his need for a "killer" presence up front:

Against the teams that are more defensive, more aggressive, more worried about trying to keep a clean sheet than really to play, we keep saying the same. We have good players, but we don't have the kind of striker able to, in a short space, to make an action, to score a goal, to open the gate.

In these kind of matches you just need to open the gate. When you open the gate, the gate is open and you go win much more. We weren't able to do that. We have to try to win as a team, to improve as a team, but also add the attacking player with that killer instinct and the number of goals that push teams to different levels.

In Costa, the Portuguese may have just that, and after scoring 27 goals with a shot accuracy of 57 percent last term, per Squawka, he sits as one of the most revered finishers in European football.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Costa was included as part of Vicente del Bosque's World Cup squad after claiming Spanish citizenship in 2013, and the Blues are clearly aware that should they fail to complete the purchase now, they risk seeing interest in his talents rise considerably.

With the medical apparently out of the way, there should now remain only a matter of dotting i's and crossing t's, something which Chelsea's bankroll means isn't likely to be too much of an issue.